How much would LSAT practice/class/book help? Forum

[billz8]

I printed out the practice LSAT online and took it yesterday under simulated conditions, scoring a 170. I hadn't done any practice or preparation beforehand other than to read an overview of the test and complete about 10 practice logic questions.

Because of the law of diminishing returns, I'm wondering whether that score is likely to improve much since it's already pretty high, and whether it's even worth it if it does.

I'm an older student, married and likely to have children soon, and that limits my choices to basically schools in Illinois, and preferably Chicago-land. My UGPA was 3.49, and in terms of intangibles I've since earned a master's and national board certification in my field. That GPA and LAST make UChicago unlikely, but are right in Northwestern's wheelhouse and probably good enough for a scholarship at Illinois. Any of the other Illinois schools would be a slam dunk.

So...how much would my score likely improve from that baseline with practice?
And, given that improvement, would I be more likely to be accepted or receive a scholarship to Chicago, Northwestern, or U of I?

[ihenry]

You can forget about prep classes if you started off from a 170. Perhaps books, too, depending on your strengths and weaknesses.

I started from 166 cold and got lower 170's on real. Diminished returns are definitely a thing, but the outcome also has to do with your motivation: there's a difference between mindlessly rushing through 30 PT's and blind reviewing and dissecting everything you got wrong/stuck at. And there's a thing called test day luck too.

Check myLSN for your chances. A 170+ usually targets higher than U of I.

[gamerish]

Post removed...

[RaceJudicata]

Do your best to improve your score a bit to 173+. Buy a few books, take a bunch of practice tests, but dont veer too far off the course that got you a 170 cold. Then, apply to Chicago and NW and see where the chips fall. NW has a strong preference for folks w/ work experience.

[lawyerinlouboutins]

Continue to take practice tests (you can buy it on Amazon - I recommend Preptests 62 & up as they are more reflective of the LSAT style for today). Definitely raise your score a few more points for more scholly money. You would definitely already get scholly money from local schools either way.

[studyingeveryday]

If you're already at 170, don't take classes--those are helpful if you start off on the lower end and need more guidance to get the hang of material. Def self-study and see where you seem to need to focus more (for example, is it Logic Games where you happened to lose more of your points?)

[gastronomy]

.

[najatuw4646]

Definitely raise your score a few more points for more scholly money.
gclub online

[jjking]

Chicago sometimes takes in the high 3.4 range.

[Scalvert]

Scores on these tests vary widely. I've scored anywhere from a 177-158 on practice tests (mid-160s on the real thing). Don't count on a high score based on one test. Don't pay for a class, but definitely spend some time taking several tests and looking at the help info here so you are confident that you can hit 170 consistently.

[billz8]

Thanks all for the feedback.

In the practice I took, I missed one in the logical reasoning section, 2 in each analytical reasoning section, and 3 in the reading comp section. On looking back, almost all of them were simple mistakes that I saw immediately when I looked at them. So I plan to do some more practice tests to cut down on those mistakes and train myself to work through the questions more quickly.

Wish I'd known back in college that law school was in my future! Definitely could have pumped that GPA up at least a couple points if I hadn't blown off a few irrelevant classes! Oops...

[Clearly]

Thanks all for the feedback.

In the practice I took, I missed one in the logical reasoning section, 2 in each analytical reasoning section, and 3 in the reading comp section. On looking back, almost all of them were simple mistakes that I saw immediately when I looked at them. So I plan to do some more practice tests to cut down on those mistakes and train myself to work through the questions more quickly.

Wish I'd known back in college that law school was in my future! Definitely could have pumped that GPA up at least a couple points if I hadn't blown off a few irrelevant classes! Oops...

There's only one AR section, and two LR

[094320]

..

[jrass]

You could easily get a 180, but should keep in mind that as a novice starting out this high any score you get between a 165 and 175 can be a result of luck and the question types you dislike showing up a lot vs a little so 170 isn't necessarily a fully accurate picture of where you're starting. Don't learn any company's approaches, and just study question type by question type. You shouldn't rely on any LSAT tips tips or tricks as they'll only slow you down as they are mostly intended to help average test takers break the 90th percentile. Just identify question types you get disproportionately wrong, and master those while taking full tests